were in the cul de sac guarded by this surprising and bloody-minded
lamb. Most of the names were well-known as those of "wreckers." In this
category belonged Blaustein, Ganz, Rothfoere, Lewis, Ascher, and
Mendel, and if Harding, Carpenter, and Vesey could not be so confidently
classified, at least their misfortune excited no particular sympathy.
Two other names mentioned, those of Norfell and Pinney, were practically
unknown.

There was some surprise, however, at the statement that the old and
respected and extremely conservative firm of Fromentin Bros. was
entangled in the thing. Egyptian bonds, minor Levantine loans, discounts
in the Arabian and Persian trades--these had been specialties of the
Fromentins for many years. Who could have expected to find them caught
among the "shorts" in Mexican rubber? It was Mexico, wasn't it, that
these Rubber Consols purported to be connected with?

Thorpe's Company, upon its commercial merits, had not been considered
at all by the gentlemen of the Stock Exchange, at the time of its
flotation. Men vaguely and with difficulty recalled the fact of its
prospectus, when the "corner" in its shares was first talked about.
They looked it up in their lists and files, later on, but its terms said
nothing to them. Nobody discussed the value of the assets owned by this
Company, or the probability of its paying a dividend--even when the
price bid for its shares was making the most sensational upward leaps.
How Thorpe stood with his shareholders, or whether he had any genuine
shareholders behind him at all, was seen by the keen eyes of Capel Court
to be beside the question. Very likely it was a queer affair, if the
truth were known--but at least it had substance enough in it to be
giving the "wreckers" a lively time.

By the end of July it was understood that the fight was better worth
watching than anything that had been seen in a long time. The only
trouble was that there was so little to see. The papers said nothing.
The sufferers were the reverse of garrulous. The little red Scotchman,
Semple, who was the visible avenging sword of the "corner," was more
imperturbably silent than anybody else. His fellow-members in the
"House" watched him now, however, with a new respect. They discovered
unsuspected elements of power in his thin, tight mouth, in the direct,
cold glances of his brown-grey eyes, in the very way he carried his head
and wore his hat. He came to be pointed out, and nodded about